This $1.2 million window work causes no pane for Grand Rapids

Rex Larsen | The Grand Rapids PressDavid Ferrell, right, of Vos Glass, and Mike Driesenga, of Beckering Advisor, install two of the new 820 energy efficient windows in the Grand Rapids City building. The high-performance double-pane, one inch-thick windows are filled with argon gas and also have a sun-control feature. The windows let some warmth from the sun enter the building in the winter while blocking it during summer months.

GRAND RAPIDS – The inconvenience of getting kicked out of his office for a day didn't faze Haris Alibasic, who knew the temporary imposition during a $1.2 million window replacement project would result in years of benefit for Grand Rapids.

The feeling has been experienced by workers throughout the building's eight above-ground floors as two months of work are expected to wrap up in the next week, leaving the structure with energy efficient double-paned glass that will knock off about $40,000 annually from the city's utility bills.

“A project of this magnitude is an important step to meeting our energy conservation goals and reduce our consumption,” said Alibasic, the city's director of energy and sustainability. “It will help us save money and become more sustainable.”

Single-paned windows installed in the mid-1960s left workers baking in the summer and freezing in the winter. Screens placed over the windows in 1977 were known for collecting dirt, bugs and spiders that gave the appearance of being constantly dirty.

Once completed, contractors will have removed and replaced 640 panes on city hall's second through ninth floors, 54 more lining Calder Plaza and 11 along Monroe Avenue NW.

The entire project, which also includes swapping out lights and installing motion sensors, was paid for with a federal grant directed at finding energy loss solutions.

Mayor George Heartwell, a proponent of energy efficiencies and Green design, said the work wouldn't have been possible without the grant.

The old glass will be recycled as part of the project, Alibasic said.

City staffers, such as customer service representatives in the treasurer's office, worked through the building project while others with dedicated officers were relocated for a day while glass was replaced floor-by-floor.